Perspective by Daniele Daugherty
A very cold, wintery day here in the 509, with at least a foot of snow and no end in sight. I decide to go shovel my 93 year old neighbor’s driveway, not all of it though; just enough so they can get to their mail box at the end of the driveway. I did not have the energy to do more than that since I was working in my own property for days. And since shoveling seems to be the most strenuous, unwanted chore of all time.
About an hour after I was done and still thawing out in my house, I hear an engine fire up outside. I bundled up to go take my puppy our for his afternoon walk. As I walked passed Harold and Edith’s house just next door, my jaw practically dropped at what I saw.
Harold had just snow blown the entire driveway! Did I mention they were 93? They do not even drive, so having a perfectly snow blown driveway is mostly for aesthetics. Mind BLOWN! Edith was out there with her straw broom (which looked like something from the Salem witch trials) cleaning off the snow blower one snow flake at a time.
Immediately, my perspective shifted…
My least favorite, strenuous, can not get out of it chore was another person’s livelihood for the moment. Perhaps they are still doing so well because they get out and do these things even when not required. Heck, they probably look forward to getting outside and doing these chores. They also tend to their garden all summer and bring over homemade raspberry jam for me to enjoy.
As we gracefully age and transition though all stages of life, let us be more like Harold and Edith.
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